Richards Falls to Batavia in State-Title Game, 34-14

By RICK NAGEL

On a perfect day for football, Oak Lawn Richards played an imperfect game, falling 34-14 to the Batavia Bulldog in the Class 6A state football title game at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.

Batavia's offense was explosive and rested squarely on the shoulders of its two stars, running back Anthony Scaccia, who scored three touchdowns and 189 yards on 33 carries, and quarterback Micah Coffey (15-of-18, 229 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT), who led a balanced attack against the best post-season defense in Class 6A football.

Richards was led by Hasan Muhammad-Rogers (17-of-37, 226 yards passing, 1 TD; 65 yards rushing, 1 TD), who accounted for both Richards scores. He hit Ryan Willett on a long pass, then Dedrick Shannon on a 9-yard touchdown in the second quarter and ran 12 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 34-14 with six minutes still left in the third quarter.

For the running game story, click here.

In the end, it might have been Batavia's defense that made the difference in this championship “Battle of the Bulldogs.”

"(The defense) did a great job against a very dynamic play-making offense," Batavia coach Dennis Piron told field-announcer Matt Rodewald. "I couldn't be happier with the effort they made. It kind of became a war of attrition at the end. We were both so beat up, we were playing so hard. What an effort, what an effort."

Nobody worked harder than Batavia’s Scaccia, who was named player of the game by Comcast Sports. 

Richards finishes the season 12-2, knowing it dealt Batavia its only loss of the 2013 season. It was Batavia's first state championship since 1912 and first-ever football state championship.